Mumbai resident 'held captive' in Myanmar contacts police, says he, other Indians being forced to commit cybercrimes

Representative image. Pic/Istock

Mumbai Police has started probe after a city resident allegedly held captive in Myanmar contacted them and claimed that he and many other Indians are stranded there after falling prey to a job racket.

Police has received information about at least three persons from the city who ended up in Myanmar after they were promised IT jobs in Thailand, a senior official said here on Saturday.

After one of them managed to contact city police, the crime branch registered a First Information Report (FIR) against unidentified persons and started a probe, he said.

The complainant, who is from suburban Bandra, told police that he and his two friends were promised IT sector jobs in Thailand by an agent.

After they landed in Thailand, they were taken to neighbouring Myanmar where they have been held against their wishes and forced to do jobs that involve cybercrimes, he said.

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More than 70 persons from Mumbai and neighbouring areas are similarly stuck in Myanmar, the complainant claimed.

But police have so far information about only three persons from Mumbai (including the complainant) who are allegedly being held captive, said the police official.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) advised Indian nationals to verify the credentials of foreign employers and antecedents of recruiting agents in view of many Indians having been lured to Myanmar.

"....IT-skilled youth are being duped in the name of lucrative data entry jobs in Thailand through social media advertisements as well as by Dubai and India-based agents," it said in an advisory.

The victims are reportedly taken across the border illegally, mostly into Myanmar, and held captive to work under harsh conditions, it said.

The Indian embassy in Myanmar recently rescued over 30 Indians out of 60 who were trapped in that country's Myawaddy area.

Myawaddy area in southeastern Myanmar's Kayin state bordering Thailand is not fully under the control of the Myanmarese government as certain ethnic armed groups hold sway over it.

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